Sales-book.



PATENTED SEPT. 11, 1906-.

H. P. BROWN.

SALES BOOK.

APPLICATION I'ILED AUG.12. 1905.

UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE.

HORACE P. BROWN, OF ALAMEDA, CALIFORNIA, ASSIGNOR TO PACIFIC.

MANIFOLDING BOOK COMPANY, OF CARSON CITY, NEVADA, A COR- PORATION OF NEVADA.

SALES-BOOK.

Patented Sept. 11, 1906.

Application filed August 12, 1905. Serial No. 274,005-

To all whom it may concern:

Be it known that I, HORACE P. BROWN, a citizen of the United States, residing at Alameda, in the county of Alameda and State of California, have invented certain new and useful Improvements in Sales Books, of which the following is a specification.

In the manufacture and use of what are known as continuous-strip salesbooks it has heretofore generally been customary to make the leaves or book portion separate from the cover and to secure them together by temporary means as, for instance, rubber bands or metallic clamps. In using books formed in this mannerthe cover has generally been formed from leather or other durable material, so that it can be applied to different books as they are successively used up. Besides entailing the additional cost of making the covers from the more costly material the time of one or more clerks, especially in the larger stores, has been required to insert the books within the covers and keep a sufficient stock on hand for the use of the different clerks throughout the establishment. Another objection to such a structure is the lack of any means of fastening the leaves together in their folded condition when separate from the cover. The result of this is that in case a bunch of folded leaves should be accidentally dropped the leaves would become unfolded and require considerable time for refolding them. The same result would happen in case a complete book should be accidentally dropped and the leaves should become separated from the cover.

The object of my invention is to avoid these difficulties, which I accomplish by forming the cover from paper and permanently securing the book or pad of folded leaves thereto in such a manner that the leaves may be unfolded or drawn off for use as readily as though they were not secured together. I accomplish these and other objects by means of the construction and arrangement of parts of a book, as will be hereinafter more fully set forth.

The accompanying drawings illustrate the invention.

Figure 1 is a perspective view of a portion of a book embodying my invention, showing the same opened. Fig. 2 is a longitudinal sectional view of the same, showing the book closed. Fig. 3 is a detail view of different means for fastening the leaves together and to the cover. Fig. 4 is an enlarged sectional view showing the manner in which thelea-ves are held togc ther by the fasteners.

Referring more particularly to the. drawings, 1 indicates a pad or bunch of leaves preferably formed from a continuous strip and folded together in the usual manner. The different leaf-sections are provided witl the usual transverse row of perforations 2 at each fold to render the leaves more rcadily separable, and in addition thereto the cor- 11ers of the leaves are cut, as shown at 3, which will further facilitate the separation of the leaves when they are pulled sidewise by the clerk.

4: indicates a back or cover for the leaves and is preferably formed from a pliable sheet of suitable material, as ordinary manila paper, upon which may be arranged or printed the ordinary sales-tables 5.

6 indicates the usual sheet of carbon-paper which is secured to a heavy piece of backing 7 at the bottom of the pile or pad of leaves 1 The fastenings are preferably arranged at diagonal corners of the structure for holding the leaves together and to the back or cover of the book. I have found by practice that fastenings formed from the ordinary staplingwirc adords a very cheap and efficient means for accomplishing this purpose. Thescfastenings may be formed in either one of several ways-as, for instance, they may be of ordinary U shape, as shown in Fig. 3, and be perfectly smooth throughout their length, as shown at 9, or the tips or ends of the legs may be headed, as shown at 11, or the sides of the legs may be roughened, as shown at 12, or the fastening may be formed from a single leg, as shown at 13 in said figure, having one end bent laterally to form a head 14 and the other end plain or headed, as shown at 15, or

the ends of the leg may be bent toward each other to cause the staple to assume a substantially triangular shape, as shown at 16but with either structure it is evident from an inspection of the enlarged detail view shown in. Fig. 4; that when the staple is driven through the body of leaves each leaf will be bent out of the plane of its body at the point of perforation, and the bent portion will naturally engage with the sides of the staple with more or less pressure or friction, which pressure or friction I have found to be sufficient to hold the leaves from becoming accidentally removed from the staple, even by rough handling, but will permit of a ready removal when the leaves are withdrawn singly as in actual use. 'I have also discovered that by constructing a sales-book in this manner the staple can be inserted after the leaves have been folded together and the cover placed thereon to form a complete book, as all that is necessary is to cut the staple short enough so as to have its ends just pass into or through the upper or normally open portion of the cover when the staple is driven into position.

In locating the staples they are preferably ,placed at diagonal corners with the one at the upper end of the book at the right-hand corner and the one at the lower end at the left-hand corner, so that as the points of the staples become exposed, as shown at 17 in Fig. 1, the ones at the lower end will not catch or interfere with the hand or clothing of the clerk when making an entry upon the in reality the slight expansion of the pad of leaves from the compression that must take place in driving the staples is sufficient to cause the cover to spring off the ends of the staples, and thereby be as easily opened as are the books in which the leaves are only temporarily secured within the cover.

As above described, it is evident that my sales-book can be constructed complete in the factory and sent to the different stores ready for use without any changes whatever, thereby saving the great cost of expensive covers and-the delay and expense of assembling the leaves within the cover. Another advantage arises from the fact that differentcolored books may be used upon different days, which will permit the books that have been used by the clerks one day being checked up the following day while the books of a different color are being used, thereby enabling the business of the concern to be'kept up to date without any additional expense or trouble whatever.

Having described my invention, I claim 1. In a sales-book, a cover, a pad of folded leaves therein formed from a continuous strip, and a means passing entirely through the pad and through the cover for securing the cover to the pad but engaging with the leaves by frictional contact only, whereby they are temporarily held against accidental removal but the intentional removal of them separately is readily permitted.

2. In a sales-book, a cover, a pad of folded leaves therein, formed from a continuous strip, and a metallic fastening passing through the pad and the cover with its retaining end flush with the top of the pad, whereby the leaves are held against removal by frictional contact only.

3. In a sales-book, a cover, a pad of folded lea ves therein formed from a continuous strip, and a straight piece of material passing through said leaves and the cover and provided with means at one end for securing the cover upon the pad and having the opposite end adapted to engage withthe leaves by frictional contact only and thereby readily permit the intentional removal of the individual lea ves.

4. In a sales-book, a cover, a pad of leaves therein, and a substantially U-shape staple passed through said leaves and said cover with 1ts bent portion upon the outside of the cover and its straight portion terminating abruptly and flush with the top of the pad and engaging with the leaves by frictional contact only.

5. In a salesbook, a cover, a pad of folded leaves therein formed from a continuous strip, and fasteners through diagonally opposite corners only of the cover and the leaves.

6. In a salesbook, a cover, a pad of folded leaves therein formed from a continuous strip, and two staples through diagonally opposite corners of the cover and the leaves, said staples each having its bent portion in engagement with the exterior of the cover and its straight portion engaging with the leaves by frictional contact only, the upper staple being located at the right-hand corner and the lower staple at the left-hand corner.

7. In a sales-book, a cover, a plurality of folded leaves therein formed from a continuous strip of material, said leaves being perforated at the folds and having their corners cut off to assist in the separation of the leaves from each other, and fastening means adjacent to aportion of said corners, said fasteners engaging with the cover to secure it in position but engaging with the leaves only temporarily to permit of their ready removal and separation. I

8. As a new article of manufacture a pad of leaves formed from a continuous strip of folded material, said pad being perforated at each fold and having its corners cut off to assist in the separation of the leaves one from the other.

In testimony whereof I aflix my signature, in presence of two witnesses, this 2d day of 

